Florida Native Plant Society Blog

By Donna Bollenbach When the concept of recycling first came up in my community I knew it was the right thing to do, but it meant that I had to spend more time sorting the trash, nagging my husband and children to put items in the right bins, and carry more containers down to the curb. We weren’t perfect at first, but like changing any habit, it took practice and commitment. Now our recycle bin fills up far faster than our garbage bin, and I feel good that I am doing the right thing. I even encourage others to recycle. Inherently, I feel most people want to do the right thing. But like my commitment to recycling, doing the right thing oftentimes requires us to break old habits, which is not easy. But once we make the change, we usually feel good about it. Sometimes we even convince others to change as well. That’s what I’m hoping to do with you right now, but this change isn’t about recycling, it’s about planting native . Floridians are in love with exotic plant...

The welcome sign for Hickory Lake Scrub. I visited Hickory Lake Scrub, a 57-acre preserve,  in May and I loved that I found quite a number of plants that I'd never seen before. A scrub habitat is not to be rushed through.  To begin to appreciate it, you need to slow down —way down. Besides the plants there is a rich ecosystem filled with critters.  It's fun to examine the tracks in the sandy soil to guess what has taken place. Here are two endemic plants that I found: Scrub morning glory ( Bonamia grandiflora ) Scrub morning glory with its pale lavender flowers. Bonamia grandiflora distribution The scrub morning glory or lady's nightcap is obviously a member of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), but it belongs to a different genus than the majority of  the morning glories — Bonamia not Ipomoea . This is the only species in this genus native to the US. It is threatened and endangered and various sources state that there are only 10...

By Alex Farr (Sea Oats Chapter member) I first saw the sign on a walk around the block, on my way to the corner swamp.  "Oh, no.  This can't be good!"....flashed through my mind, and all of the horrors of the bulldozer followed that thought.  But that was in October, still not much building happening, and anyway, with all this talk of global warming, water rising, huge hurricanes, impossible insurance rates (if any insurance at all), would  make these lots a hard sell. How hard would it be to sell these lots? Late February---I heard that all too familiar sound of beep, beep, beep, diesel engines, swoosh, the sickening sound of trees falling.  But I was off to work, not time to investigate.  Turning down my little lane that afternoon, I was horrified to be able to see the next street over, and the condo's on the next street.  The trees and entangled growth that blocked that view were gone.  It was the site of that For Sale sign back in Oc...

Do you know Florida's native plant communities? Have you ever wondered what the heck a scrubby flatwoods is or what the difference is between a slough and a wet prairie? Well, wonder no more! The FNPS website includes a Native Plant Communities page with all of Florida's complex ecosystems explained and illustrated by photos. The communities are organized into 13 broad categories: Xeric Uplands, Dry Mesic Uplands, Mesic Uplands, Wet Flatlands, Seepage Wetlands, Moving Water Wetlands, Floodplain Wetlands, Basin Wetlands, Rocklands, Coastal Uplands, Coastal Wetlands, Flowing Water Systems, and Lakes & Ponds. There are two or more specific communities under each broad category. Isn't Florida amazing? Why is it important to be familiar with all this? Whether you are just planting natives in your yard or working on a true restoration project, it's important to know what is likely to have been there 500 years ago.  Knowing Florida's native plant commun...

 The Florida Native Plant Society has released its annual report for 2011 . Please read the whole report for yourself to see how much our organization accomplishes in one short year. What I've included here are some screenshots to give an idea of what is included.   From FNPS president Steve Woodmansee: Restoration of our native habitats begins with the native plants appropriate to our areas. The continued protection of our remaining natural habitats is also critically important. After all, these are the refugia where our native wildlife still survives. For these reasons I actively support the Florida Native Plant Society. These pages illustrate some of the many Florida Native Plant Society achievements in 2011. Help us continue to preserve Florida’s natural heritage, native plant by native plant community.     What is notable about the FNPS operating expenses pie chart is that a full 80% of our expenses is for programs. We are very efficient! ...

Editor's note : Thanks to the dedicated and ongoing efforts of people like Lorraine, the Hampton Tract is currently being recommended for no expanded hunting. However, there is one more public meeting where comments will be heard on Hampton and three other tracts. This post is a tribute to the fact that your voice counts . The following two links will take you to the SWFWMD's page on the hunting evaluation process and the specifics for the next meeting: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/recreation/hunt_evaluation.php The next meeting is set for December 5th: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/news/article/1735 / Chipping sparrow in the Green Swamp, Hampton Tract The Green Swamp, a huge Southwest Florida Water Management District property holding purchased over time for aquifer recharge and conservation is probably the second most important property collection in the state after the Everglades.  The Hampton tract is one of the newer acquisitions, not many of you k...

  Family and friends at the "jumping" tree at Fisheating Creek in Glades County. Photo by Helen Woodmansee, ca 1975. A letter from Steve Woodmansee, FNPS president FNPS members recently received my letter describing childhood adventures in South Florida's outdoors – memorable experiences made possible thanks to preserved lands and my parents' initiative. I dug up some photos of these family trips to share with you. The quality of these photos is not the greatest - they were scanned from prints - but many readers probably have photos like these (maybe even older!) and can relate to a time without cell phones, the Internet or cable television. At this time of year, we are grateful for our families, and also organizations like FNPS, which works every day, through grassroots volunteer members, to preserve, conserve and restore the native plants and native plant communities of Florida. As I said in my letter, my childhood experiences led me to being part of FNPS,...

The Florida Native Plant Society has taken a stand on preserving this important land.  Read the letter from FNPS president Ann Redmond . Then please make your comment for support by March 31, 2011.  Your voice WILL count.  Preservation of these lands is good for Florida's native plants & wildlife and it's also good for Florida's business community. "In order to effectively conserve the native plants and native plant communities of Florida, we must conserve places where the natural processes that shaped and sustained them can be perpetuated. The Refuge proposal embraces the kind of holistic, integrated, landscape-scale approach that is required to achieve such an outcome. The protection of these lands, in combination with the hydrologic restoration envisioned in the Preliminary Project Proposal, will produce benefits that extend well beyond the footprint of the Refuge and complement the goals of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan." The Audu...